Each year the Indiana Department of Natural Resources works with local communities and not-for-profit organizations to strengthen our historical and cultural heritage through the preservation of our history.

This year the agency will award $517,500 in federal historic preservation grant funds to municipal government agencies, educational institutions, and local not-for-profit organizations in Indiana.

The funds come from the National Park Service, a part of the U.S. Department of the Interior, which distributes federal funds to the states through the Historic Preservation Fund Program. Since 1974, more than $13 million has been awarded by the state through this program. "We Hoosiers have a rich and diverse past," said DNR director and Indiana's state historic preservation officer, John Goss. "These grants once again show not only the strength of our cultural resources, but are a tribute to those who step up to do the hard work and give the extra measure to help us preserve the thread that links us all to our past."

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources manages the grants through its division of historic preservation and archaeology. The division received 47 grant applications requesting $1.2 million in funding. Grant recipients were chosen through a competitive application process and 23 grants were awarded.

The State Historic Preservation Review Board approved funding recommendations that best met federal and state priorities and guidelines. Funding awards require grant recipients to provide about half of the total project cost. All projects must be completed by June 30, 2005.

Following is the list of grant recipients for Fort Wayne:

• The City of Fort Wayne Community Development Department received a $4,500 grant to prepare a National Register of Historic Places nomination for the West Rudisill-Illsley Historic District. The nomination is expected to include approximately 65 contributing properties

• Fort Wayne and Allen County: ARCH, Inc., Fort Wayne's non-profit preservation organization, received a $17,875 grant to prepare several nominations to the National Register of Historic Places. They include a nomination for the Alexander T. Rankin House in Fort Wayne; a nomination for the Vermilyea House-Wabash and Erie Canal Aqueduct Historic District in Aboite Township; and a multiple property cover document for Fort Wayne Park Resources that are part of the George Kessler Park and Boulevard Plan and other parks in the system as of 1912.

• The Archaeological Survey of IU-PU at Fort Wayne received a $40,250 grant to examine household archaeology at domestic structures identified at the Castor Farm site and the Strawtown enclosure. A limited excavation in 2003 confirmed the presence of a house basin with burned timbers dating to between AD 1025-1285. The feature contains cultural debris indicating that the western basin tradition continued to occupy the site after the structure was burned. A western basin pit house such as this has never been documented. This project also expects to expose a Fort Ancient house. The Fort Ancient occupation within the enclosure represents the earliest documented occurrence in central Indiana.

• The Archaeological Survey of IU-PU at Fort Wayne received a $21,025 grant to conduct a research, data enhancement, and public outreach program designed to collect meaningful data about Paleoindian chronology, technology, and social organization in northeastern Indiana. The project will also lay the groundwork for future programs of public education and outreach. The research component centers on addressing fundamental deficiencies in our knowledge about Paleoindians in the diverse landscape of northeastern Indiana.